In most recent year makes of automobiles, the rear bench seat has back rests that can be pivoted down so that passengers in the passenger compartment can gain access to the cargo space in the rear or trunk of the car. In these rear bench seats, the outboard or endmost seats on either side of the inboard or center seat usually have three-point belt systems with shoulder and lap belt portions that are secured by a single tongue plate of a tip assembly in locking engagement with a buckle for restraining the passengers seated thereon. The three-point mounting typically includes an anchor and a retractor and/or a turning loop that are fixed to the vehicle adjacent to and outboard of the end seat, and a buckle that is located inboard of and along the outboard seat between it and the center seat. When buckled, the span of the belt from the tip assembly to the anchor defines a lap belt portion extending over the lap of a seat occupant, while another portion of the belt extending upwardly from the tip assembly defines a shoulder belt portion extending across the chest and shoulder of the seat occupant to the turning loop or the seat belt retractor located above the passengers shoulder such as high on a pillar or roof rail of the vehicle. When unbuckled, the retractor draws in belting so that the belt including the tip assembly thereon extends only between the retractor and/or turning loop and the anchor outboard of the end seats. In this manner, the three-point shoulder and lap belting systems do not interfere with downward pivoting of the back rests of the outboard seats for providing access to the trunk.
With respect to the center seat, the three-point belt systems are not as readily utilized because the location of the upper and lower mounting points between which the belt extends when unbuckled causes the belt webbing to interfere with folding down of the back rest of the center seat. Because the upper mounting point of a three-point center seat belt has to mount to the rear shelf behind the rear seats, to obtain the proper direction for the belt across the shoulder and chest of the seated passenger from the shelf to the buckle, the location of the upper point has to be substantially aligned with or inboard of the side of the center seat. The lower mounting point is situated between the center seat and adjacent outboard seat so that with the three-point belt unbuckled, the belt will generally include a length that extends over the back rest thereby requiring a passenger to pull this belt length out of the way before pivoting the center seat back rest down. Accordingly, typically these three-point type of shoulder and lap belting systems are not preferred for use in conjunction with the center seat.
Another shortcoming with seat belt systems used with multiple seats in side-by-side relation to each other such as with bench seating having outboard seats flanking either side of a center seat in the rear seating area of a vehicle as described above is that typically several tongue plates and/or buckles are laying in closely adjacent positions relative to each other prior to use. Where this arrangement is present, it is not uncommon for a passenger to insert a tongue plate from one seat into a buckle housing from another seat or to take the tongue plate from another seat and insert it into the buckle housing of the seat they are sitting in. Either way, this makes it impossible for the passenger seated next to them to find the right tongue plate or buckle for securing their seat belt about themselves. While it is known to provide seat specific tongues and buckles that will not work with tongues and buckles of adjacent seats, these systems typically involve significant redesign in the construction of the tongues and the internal operating components of the buckles, raising costs accordingly. Further, these prior systems are for use with the center and outboard rear seats in automobiles that each utilize a single tongue and buckle set on their respective belts so that only two different sets are needed. As the number of sets of tongues and buckles increases so does the concern for cost containment.
Accordingly, an improved restraint system for use with fold down center seats would be desirable. In this regard, a center seat restraint system that more readily allows the back rest to be folded down is needed. Further, a seat belt system that effectively eliminates the risk of having passengers in adjacent seats insert tongue plates into incorrect buckles and which does so in an inexpensive fashion is needed.